Illumination assemblies can provide light for a variety of applications, including general lighting and electronic applications. For example, a backlighting assembly can be used to provide light for a display, such as a liquid crystal display (LCD). Currently such backlighting assemblies mainly employ cold cathode fluorescent tubes (CCFLs) light sources. Although these fluorescent tubes can provide efficient distributed lighting, serious disadvantages of fluorescent tubes include complicated inverter electronics, slow switching speeds, and the presence of hazardous materials, such as mercury, within the fluorescent tubes.